There are many different types of 'fitness plans' for different goals and needs: reduction of lifestyle health risks, injury rehab, general fitness, stress reduction, and sport specific training are some of the main ones. Yoga can have a role in many of these programs. I've talked in the past a bit about yoga for runners, and yoga for stress reduction, and so on. Because I have had quite a few soccer players lately, I would like to talk a bit about how your yoga can be helpful, either in off season or during your playing season.
When dealing with any sport I think you have to take the yoga in context of other training. Yoga is a very flexible discipline (yoga joke) but if you try to stretch the limits past the basic principles of the practice you will no longer be doing yoga, and you will not be getting any better benefits than you would by using other training methods, and taking what is already in yoga and using it for your benefit.
For example: Two skills you need in soccer are speed and agility. If I start trying to have people do vinyasas while they run around obsticles it will neither be effective yoga nor effective agility drills. However there are skills you will develop in yoga that will serve your soccer practice very well.
Balance
In soccer balance is important. While you will not practice kicking a ball while standing on one leg in yoga, it does provide the oportunity to slow down and develop the brain body connection and the kinesthetic awareness, and core strength and flexibility, and ability to adapt to a shifting center of gravity,... all of which will form a base from which balance while moving can then be built. I teach a lot of vinyasa with balance poses built in, and try to teach the importance of feeling the movements between the start and finish. I think this allows us to understand the move as a whole. Again, speed can then be built on a base of control.
Flexibility
The specific places a soccer player will benefit from more flexibility include the ankle joints (down dog is helpful here), the hips (including inner and outer rotational movements), the hip flexors (the power of your kick will be aided if your range of motion is not too shortened by your strong thighs), and the spine (spinal twists, side bends, as well as forward and backward movements all aid in the ability to move with more fluidity, and to be able to turn to see what is going on in various directions, or to move with power.
Breath
Breath techniqes are obviously useful when working toword higher ends of aerobic capacity, as well as when trying to maintain a higher output over time, but they are also really helpful for maintaining mental calm and focus. When one is in a competition and something goes wrong, or when one makes a mistake it is easy to let that affect the rest of the game. Breath work can be used to rebalance if one finds oneself loosing that 'eye on the prize' thing.
Focus
Asana, breahtwork, proprioceptive awareness, and meditation are all part of yoga, and used together in yoga they are excellent for providing the ability to maintain focus in the midst of the storm. We often practice bringing our minds to one very specific physical spot in our body, or one part of the breath, or to one sound, or one thought, or one object in meditation. One cannot make all the distractions dissappear, but one can learn to see through the fog and to ignore that which does not matter at that moment.
Some Specific Practice Suggestions
Focus a lot on standing work. Your sport is not done seated, and this will help you build strength and endurance. There are lots of hip openers and hamstring stretches that can be done standing.
Include spinal stretches in all planes of movement (but avoid end range).
Include standing balance poses.
Do some vinyasa practice and try to focus on the movements as you go from one posture to the next, rather than just to the place where you end.
Include some pranayama techniques. A metronome can be helpful in learning to listen to the pace of your breath. Ujjayi breath is a good one to try as well.
Include a meditation portion to your practice. I think a single focus, rather than a generalized one might serve the soccer better, as it matches what you will need in your sport better, (but that is my opinion, and I am open to being convinced otherwise)
Include balance postures. You might work toword ardha chandrasana and utthita hasta padangusthasana, though you will want to do a lot of prep work as they are both challenging and should not be done cold, or before working on simpler things, like vriksasana before being attempted.
If you are local and you make it to my class please remember that I am happy to help you with your individual needs, and if you want to comment or question you can do so on my FB yoga page or through IDEAfit.
Have a wonderful soccer season, and please stay hydrated.
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